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Friday, December 21, 2018

Product Review: Staedtler Karat Aquarell Colored Pencils

Staedtler Karat Aquarell water-soluble colored pencils

At least a couple of times recently (in the post aboutsketching birds and the one about
using a complement of hard and soft watercolor pencilstogether), I’ve alluded to the Staedtler Karat Aquarell as being the hardest artist-grade
water-soluble colored pencil I have tried. (Some student-grade and vintage pencils are harder, but they
are also low in pigment.) As I’m becoming more aware of how varying degrees of
core hardness affect the usage (and usefulness) of colored pencils, it seemed
like a good time to review the Karat Aquarell.

The silver-colored hexagonal barrel has a glossy end cap
indicating the core’s hue. Its standard diameter sharpens well in any
sharpener.

The strong pigments dissolve easily and completely in my swipe
test. However, when making my sketch samples, the red pencil had some gritty bits
that I associate with novelty and other low-quality pencils. I was surprised to
encounter this in an artist-grade pencil. It could be a fluke, as I haven’t experienced
it with other colors.

In my wet sample sketch of the pear (at left), I applied multiple dry/wet cycles, and I was pleased that each
additional layer was as easy to apply as previous ones. The relatively hard
core enables points to stay sharp, which came in handy for small details like
the stem’s shadow.

12/18/18 Karat Aquarells in S&B Epsilon sketchbook (no water used)

As mentioned in my recent review of Albrecht Dürer pencils, I now think it’s important to test
water-soluble pencils when used without
water activation as well as with, so here is the same pear again (below), this time
sketched with dry Karat Aquarells. Although the hard core covered Stillman & Birn’s Epsilon surface
well, and I enjoyed the mostly smooth application (except for the red’s gritty bits,
which reappeared sporadically), the final colors don’t look as rich as softer pencils left dry. This is always
a tradeoff: It can be easier to apply heavy color with softer pencils, but
harder pencils cover the surface more thoroughly and are better for details.

Since taking the watercolor pencil class, I’ve come to appreciate
harder cores for what they do well, and when I need a hard watercolor pencil,
this is the one I’ll use. It’s not one I would choose, though, for general
purposes.